CRBSI rates associated with cuffed and uncuffed hemodialysis catheters
Abstract:
Introduction: Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CBSI) are serious complications in pediatric hemodialysis (HD) patients. We aimed to compare the CBSI rates associated with cuffed and uncuffed central venous catheters (CVC) in small children.
Materials and methods: All HD patients weighing < 15 kg and dialyzed via cuffed CVCs for at least 3 months between March 2016 and March 2022 were included. The CBSI rate was compared to that of a well-matched historical series of our patients before implementing cuffed CVCs.
Results: Three boys and 1 girl (median weight: 14.0 kg) matched the inclusion criteria and received HD using the same type of cuffed CVC. Eleven CBSIs occurred during 4,870 days with cuffed CVCs, yielding a CBSI rate of 2.3/1,000 catheter days, compared to 7.7/1,000 catheter days in our historical series with uncuffed CVCs (p = 0.002). A 70% reduction in the CBSI rate was achieved with cuffed CVCs (p = 0.002). The median catheter survival times for cuffed and uncuffed CVCs were 189 and 53 days, respectively (p = 0.002).
Conclusion: Our results show that cuffed CVCs are associated with reduced CBSI rates and improved catheter longevity compared to uncuffed ones in small children.
Reference:
Novljan G, Rus RR, Battelino N. Catheter-related bloodstream infection rates: Comparing cuffed vs. uncuffed catheters in a nationwide series of small children on chronic hemodialysis. Clin Nephrol. 2025 Nov 27. doi: 10.5414/CNP104S07. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41307418.